A friend [not me- I'm on dialup] has downloaded & installed Mandriva 2006 updates 3 times. When he reboots he is at the console screen which wont accept username [root] or password so he cant do anything except reinstall: 2400Megs down the tube!
What is happening and how can he proceed please?
Thanks
BarryD

One possible cause is that the kernel was updated. If he is using lilo to boot, he should run "/sbin/lilo" as root to update the boot loader to refer to the new kernel, before restarting.

He may be able to do the same thing if he boots up with the first install disk and enters the rescue system.
Then there will be a menu option to mount the system under /mnt.
Next, the /mnt heirarchy needs to become the new root:
chroot /mnt
bash -l # <- this reloads the .profile configuration
mount -a # <- this will mount any remaining partitions
lilo # <- rewrite the bootstrap loader

Another problem with a kernel upgrade sometimes is with starting X. The new kernel may not have a video kernel moduled in the new kernel. However, since your friend can't even log in, I don't think that is the case.

Thanks for that but since friend cannot log on as user or root or anything, the system is closed- the update seems to change/delete the original usernames and passwords?
Thanks

The quote below addresses that very problem

Using the rescue mode of the Install CD

To use the rescue mode of the install CD, follow these steps:

* Boot from the Mandriva install CD
* At the prompt, hit F1 for more options.
* Enter rescue at the prompt.

This will bring up a menu. (It may take a moment to load.) Your menu options are:

* Re-install Boot loader - This will usually install the Mandriva boot loader for you automatically. This is the option you will usually need if you had to re-install Windows, and you no longer get the Mandriva boot menu.

* Restore Windows Boot loader - Use this if you are going to remove Linux from the drive.

* Mount your partitions under /mnt - This will set things up so you can edit config files on your Linux system. This can also be done manually from the console. The advantage here is that it will also mount everything in fstab for you. For example, if you have a separate /home partition, it will get mounted on /mnt/home. So everything will be set up for using chroot to get your normal root environment. This option may fail, or may not mount all partitions if /etc/fstab file has problems. If you see error messages when using this option, that is probably the case.

* Go to console - This will drop you to the Command Line Interface (CLI). You can use text and curses based tools to fix your system. It is usually a good idea to run Mount your partitions under /mnt before using this option. If you do so without errors, you can run chroot /mnt and have your normal root file system. You will no longer be limited to the tools from rescue mode, but will be able to use all the normal command line tools. But if your /etc/fstab file is messed up, you may be more limited, depending on how your system is partitioned.

* Reboot - Do a proper shutdown and restart the system.

* Doc: - This is a brief explanation of when to use the rescue mode.

If Re-install Boot loader does not work, but Mount you partitions under /mnt does, you can try another way to restore the boot loader using these steps:

1. Mount you partitions under /mnt
2. Go to console
3. chroot /mnt
4. lilo -v
5. exit
6. exit

In at least one case, this has worked when Re-install Boot loader failed.

If both Re-install Boot loader and Mount you partitions under /mnt produces errors, then it is time to check /etc/fstab to make sure it matches your system. Until I get a chance to write it, (or someone else does it...), please consult your local Linux geek, or ask on the mailing list.
{(Edit by Lakota) if fstab needs fixing you can open and edit it by booting the system with something such as knoppix or Damn Small Linux on live cd. Damn Small is my preference.}

This is based on the 9.2, 10.1 and LE2005 install CDs.

Above info found @: http://mandriva.vmlinuz.ca/index.php...CLI/DiskRescue

Thanks for your detailed and helpful replies.
Was able to mount system, reinstall lilo, etc. Could have edited appropriate files but my friend decided on a reinstall [probably just as well.]
Seems unlikely that there are 800 Megs of updates for Mandriva2006 out there already?
Thanks again for your help!